Mr. John Kenneth Cozier Jr.

John Kenneth Cozier Jr., known to all his friends and family as “Ken” passed away unexpectedly on January 4, 2018, at his residence in Universal Health Care, Fletcher NC. He was 85 years young. Born August 8, 1932 as the eldest son of three children to John Kenneth Cozier Sr. and Mary Catherine Towle. He grew up in the privileged society of Cleveland OH. Attended University School and then Private school at Proctor Academy in Andover, NH, where his love for baseball began to shape his life. He tried several different sports but settled in as a pitcher. In 1952, while playing for the JV squad he pitched a no-hitter, striking out 15 and walking 9 in a 22-2 victory. He graduated Proctor in 1952 and went on to play semi-professional ball in Bonners Ferry, Idaho for 2 summers while he worked as a forest ranger. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University from 1952-1955 and then Hanover College in Hanover, IN from 1955 to 1958, where he continued his baseball career. During his time at Hanover he met the love of his life, Jane Rowan Glossbrenner. They struck up a mutual friendship while in French class and discovered that they had similar interests and family in his home town area. The two were engaged in 1956 and married in 1957. He graduated Hanover in 1958 with a degree in business. While in school he also was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity both at Ohio Wesleyan and Hanover. After Ken and Jane were married they settled down in Cleveland and started a family. Ken began to work for his father at the Cozier Container Corporation. Their first son Richard was born in 1959 and David came along a year later in 1960. By this time Ken was getting the itch to change professions and wanted to go back to school. He chose to pursue a degree in Geography at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. In 1963 they packed up their things and moved out to Corvallis where later that year their daughter and third child Cynthia was born. Ken graduated from Oregon State in 1965 and obtained a job working for the U.S. Forest Service in Juneau Alaska. They spent 13 months in Alaska and during that time their fourth child John Daniel was born in 1966. In 1967 Ken got a job through his connections as a federal worker as a researcher and “Cartographer” with the Defense Mapping Agency, Topographic Command, just outside of Washington DC. This was at the height of the Vietnam War and he would hold this position for 24 years until his retirement in 1991. They settled down outside of the DC area in Potomac, Maryland. During this time Ken became immersed in tracing and researching his family roots in the age before the Internet. He would spend countless hours at the Library of Congress. He uncovered many ancestors and their stories with his direct line tracing back to the early 1600’s. He discovered the arrival of his immigrant ancestor in the new world around 1750 and how his family roots were embedded in the history of a new nation. Along the path there were ancestors that fought in the revolutionary war and Civil War. He documented all of their stories. He became a member of the SAR and DAR (Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution). His research also yielded paths that lead connections back to four members of the Mayflower. In 1989 upon certifying and submitting his research, he became an active member in the Mayflower Society organization where he would hold various titles throughout the following years both in the Washington DC chapters and also North Carolina including SecretaryTreasurer and Governor of the Mayflower Society for the Western Colony of Asheville, NC. His professional accomplishments include publishing three sets of genealogical books tracing the Cozier, Towle and Curtiss surnames. In 1991 he retired and he and Jane moved to Asheville, North Carolina. He continued his genealogy pursuits and became an active member and President of the Old Buncombe Genealogical Society where he donated the majority of his research. Ken and his wife Jane maintained a devout religious faith that has guided them through their lives They were active members of the Presbyterian faith and held many positions with the various churches they became members of from Ushers, Deacons and Treasurers. They were members of the Presbyterian Mariners and severed as local officers in chapters in Alaska and Maryland. While in Asheville they became members of Arden Presbyterian Church. Ken will be remembered as a vibrant spirit with a classic sense of humor. His honesty, humor and religious backbone was endearing to all who came in contact with him. In his final years, he still maintained his memory, wit and charm until the day his body failed. One of the attendants at the nursing home recounted a story to Ken and Jane’s Pastor the day Ken passed: he told the Pastor that “when he went into the room this morning, as he rolled Jane out to take care of Ken, she looked over at him and seemed to focus on something between him and her; she started giggling and nodded her head”. An angelic moment, no doubt. His daughter Cindy wrote the morning of his passing: “Our father, Ken Cozier, passed onto the heavens this morning. He passed peacefully and surrounded by love! They called me at 9:20 to tell me he passed. The nurses had seen him 10 minutes before when he was dressed and in his chair, probably reading his daily bible verses. He was found collapsed in his wheelchair and unconscious at 9:20. There was nothing they could do and it was a peaceful passing”. They dressed him in his fancy jacket, which was his wish, and gathered his two baseball caps and baseball to put by his side. We called the Chaplain and he arrived at 1:00. All four of us kids were on the phone to listen to the Chaplain bless our father and send him off to the heavens above. Mom was by his side and conscious. Chaplain Stacy anointed both of them and I am sure “the travelers” were near by J! He opened the window and let his spirit free… Ken Cozier is preceded in death by his parents and sister Nancy. Ken is survived by his wife of 60 years Jane Cozier, his brother Chuck, children Richard, David, Cynthia and John Daniel, their wives Cynthia Cozier, Barbara and Heidi along with his grandchildren Nicholas, Alex, Kylee, Kirsten and Kaitlyn. A viewing and Memorial Service will be held at Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 on Saturday January 13, 2018. The viewing will begin at 1 pm followed by a Celebration of Kens Life at 2pm and a private graveside service for family and close friends at 3:30pm. In lieu of Flowers donations can be made in Ken’s Memory to the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society & Library, 128 Bingham Rd # 950, Asheville, NC 28806 www.morrisfamilyfuneralhome.com

Tributes

Mr. John Kenneth Cozier Jr.

August 8, 1932 - January 4, 2018